Hale found guilty of first-degree murder

Yvonne Leroux

(LINDSAY) Friends and family of Yvonne Leroux wept in Lindsay court Tuesday evening as Oshawa resident Jack Hale, 60, was found guilty of first-degree murder.
With tears streaming down their faces as they emerged from the courthouse shortly before 6 p.m., there was an atmosphere of relief as they hugged each other and those who helped them through the arduous trial process.
“I’m so happy,” said Valorie Whitehead, Ms Leroux’s cousin, who has attended almost every court date in the case in the four years since Ms Leroux was shot and killed at Riverwood Trailer Park south of Lindsay on Sept. 18, 2008.
“I’m so glad it’s over, and now I can say goodbye,”
Mr. Hale had previously admitted to shooting Ms Leroux, but claimed he pulled the trigger by accident when a pit bull startled him inside the trailer. The jury was given options of finding Mr. Hale guilty of first-degree murder, second-degree murder or manslaughter.
Mrs. Whitehead also raved about the hard work of Crown attorney Rebecca Griffin who tirelessly advocated on Ms Leroux’s behalf to get some measure of justice for her family.
“It’s been a long four years,” added Dirk Arsenault, who was dating Ms Leroux at the time of her death and was in the trailer when she was murdered and served as a key witness in the trial.
“Now we can just move on and get on with our lives,” he said.
The jury was out for about three hours, following 36 days of trial.
Mr. Hale’s expression did not change as the verdict was read. In an unusual move, his lawyer Tom Balka requested that the 12-person jury be polled. One by one, each juror stood, looked directly at Mr. Hale and declared he was guilty. As details for his next court date were being worked out, Mr. Hale sat stoically in the prisoner’s box, sipping on water from a paper cup.
Tom Bannister, who, along with his common-law wife Brenda Green, was also visiting the trailer at the time of the murder and also testified at the trial, was visibly shaking in the moments before the verdict was read.
“I’m very happy with it,” he said of the outcome.
“I wouldn’t have been happy with anything less.”
Justice Barry MacDougall gave extensive instructions to the jury over two days, as well as summarizing testimony from several key witnesses as well as the positions of lawyers on each respective side. He told the jury that to find Mr. Hale guilty of first-degree murder, they had to be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that, he had the state of mind for murder and that the killing was either planned and deliberate or during the same series of events that saw Mr. Hale forcibly confine, or attempt to forcibly confine Ms Leroux or Ms Green.
The judge encouraged jurors to keep an open mind and take the opinions of other jurors into account as they carefully consider and weight the plethora of information provided to them.
After the verdict was in, Justice MacDougall thanked the jury for their diligence and patience throughout the trial and for performing their civic duty to the best of their abilities.
Under the Criminal Code of Canada a conviction of first-degree murder means a sentence of life imprisonment, generally with no eligibility for parole for 25 years.
Mr. Hale will be back in Lindsay court Dec. 20 for sentencing from Justice MacDougall. Victim impact statements from friends and family of Ms Leroux will be read into the record at that time.